June Garden Favorites: Something Old, Something New

As I look at my garden this time of year, my greatest pleasure comes from two plants: one an old favorite, one a new experiment.

The Old Favorite The oakleaf hydrangea has been a favorite for a long time. A native plant that thrives with little care, it flourishes in the shade (I’ve got lots) and looks great in the sun, too. It has large oak-like leaves (hence the name) that turn a lovely scarlet in the fall. Now in June, tall, showy panicles of white flowers appear.

Here it is, at left, in a sunny spot under my back porch:

And here’s a close-up:

Here’s more of it on the far, shady side of the pond. (The more common hydrangea at left would show even bluer flowers if I had remembered to spread iron sulphate on the ground earlier this spring. Next year!)

Finally, here’s an oakleaf hydrangea in a heavily shaded spot under a magnolia tree in my side yard:

Something New: Smoke Bush (or Tree) I’d never even heard of this one until last year when the garden columnist for the Washington Post wrote about it. This stuff can grow into a small tree or it can be kept pruned as a bush. It is striking in every season. I planted my first one last fall by the pond and its leaves turned a beautiful greenish purple and was about the last plant to shed its leaves. Now it has a reddish-green cast, and its panicles give it misty halos that create a smoky effect. (Unfortunately, the halos on the bush — like they are with saints — are difficult to capture in a photograph.)

I was so taken with this one that I’ve planted two other varieties in the front yard.

An unexpected new love! Almost as exciting in the garden as it is in — you know — “real life.”